


Je Vous Salue Marie (Hail Mary)

by HPswl_cumbercookie



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris | Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France (Country), Français | French, French Characters, Gen, Notre Dame - Freeform, Sherlock is French, So is John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 19:39:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18581260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPswl_cumbercookie/pseuds/HPswl_cumbercookie
Summary: Something I wrote the day of the fire at Notre Dame as a sort of tribute to the grief of the French. A show of solidarity, that I too shared in their grief.





	Je Vous Salue Marie (Hail Mary)

**Author's Note:**

> This is not meant to make light of the fire, at all. This is my means of expressing the grief I felt at watching the cathedral burn as well as show my empathy and sympathy with all those affected. It brought me some comfort when I feared the worst.

Sirens blare around the crowd. Men and women alike, standing, kneeling, sitting, heads bowed. Tears fall unseen from thousands of eyes as the blaze roars on in the distance, a plume of smoke billowing over the rooftops. John watches with eyes wide as the famed cathedral continues to burn still hours after the fire began. His tears have already fallen, and there are none left to give. Now all he feels is an emptiness that resonates through the quiet streets, the smoke-filled sky, the still blazing rooftop of the beloved monument. Suddenly, a deep baritone breaks through the stunned quiet, a resonating sound not unlike the bells that should be ringing the hour right now. He looks around in attempt to locate the source of the sound, as well as figure out what they’re saying. Several more voices join in and the words become distinguishable as they grow in size.

  


_Vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes_

_Et Jésus, le fruit de vos entrailles, est béni._

 

John grew up hearing this hymn. His mother would sing it with him after mass at this very cathedral every week, despite the often large services and tourists milling about. She just couldn’t bear living so near to it and not going there. John was always struck dumb by the beauty of the early morning sunlight shining in through the delicate stained glass, and some of the best memories of his mother were made beneath the roof that is caving in, helpless against the flames. The song seems to loosen the knot that is building in his chest at the memories buried beneath the ashes, and so he joins in with the impromptu choir, joining with them in mourning.

 

_Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu,_

_Priez pour nous pauvres pécheurs,_

_Maintenant et à l’heure de notre mort._

 

_Amen._

 

They start again as they watch the skyline, some joining hands or wrapping arms about each other’s shoulders, despite being strangers, to provide some comfort to their brethren. John hears a new voice approach his side and turns to meet their eyes. His eyes search up to meet shining blue-grey-green ones, tears spilling out from the creases and mouth turned down at the edges as he sings through the tears. John hears through the thick, mucous-y croak the deep baritone that started the song and he offers a small smile in an attempt to provide some comfort to the man who only shuts his eyes for a long moment in acknowledgement, still singing while his chest shudders. John offers his hand to the man and waits until the man takes it, offering a brief squeeze and turning back towards their beloved cathedral as he sings. He feels the man offer a brief squeeze in return and hears as he begins to sing a little louder, a little stronger.

 

Together they sing their tribute to her, Our Lady, who even as she burns brings unity to her people.

 

_Je vous salue, Marie pleine de grâce ;_

_Le Seigneur est avec vous._

_Vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes_

_Et Jésus, le fruit de vos entrailles, est béni._

_Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu,_

_Priez pour nous pauvres pécheurs,_

_Maintenant et à l’heure de notre mort._

 

_Amen_


End file.
